I took a lot of photographs in 2025. It makes sense. I took an unusually large number of photos of the local Masonic Temple before and during its demolition. We spent three weeks driving Route 66. My oldest son was married. I was involved with some political campaigns. And, I was working on building a portfolio of photos that could become commercial prints.
The chart doesn’t reflect it, but I set a personal record for the number of pictures taken in 2025. This is the first year that I filtered my retrospective chart. I excluded the digital photos that I took for reference purposes. When we traveled Route 66 I snapped pictures of signs and other details that I wanted to refer back to when editing our travel videos. I also took a lot of photos of the Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex III as I performed a complete rebuild of it. Without filtering the EOS RP and iPhone 13 would be in the second and third spots, respectively, on the list. And, we wouldn’t want two digital cameras in the top three positions, would we?
It was the first year since 2022 that the Hasselblad 203FE wasn’t the most used camera. The main contributor to that change was adding the Leica M4 to the lineup. The camera list is also a bit shorter this year, and that is due to making room (as well as time and funds available) for the addition of that Leica.
Another contributor to the 203FE being used less could be that I don’t like using it in the rain, or in the snow, or when the humidity is too high. I don’t like to baby cameras, the ones I have were designed for heavy professional use, and they should earn their keep. But, I’m convinced that the partial bus failure on the Hasselblad was due to water infiltration. And, this year seemed to be wet when I wanted to take photos; the first part of the Route 66 trip was very rainy, and the snow came early to Ohio in 2025.
I also started using the 35mm focal length again in 2025. For a long time I favored the “standard” 50mm lens. The first lens I got for my EOS Rebel T3i was the EF 50mm ƒ1.8 II. My Nikon FA came with a NIKKOR 50mm ƒ1.8, and my Leica M4 came with a Carl Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm ƒ1.5.
After appreciating some of the photographs I had taken with a Nikon 35Ti, I decided to add the Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm ƒ1.4 (Version II, MC) to the Leica. I wanted to stay vintage and get the single coated version of the lens, but it wasn’t in stock in the US at the time.
AI slop became even more prevalent in 2025. That just filled me with the urge to use even lower fidelity film. I continued shooting Polaroids, and added a new Flip camera for the wedding. I also pulled out the old Minox LX. In addition to low-fi photos, the Minox was pressed into service for its ability to hide in the pocket of a sport coat, and now that I am an elected official I wear those more frequently.
Finally, I found time in 2025 to get the Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex III into working order. It is not yet at peak performance, but it’s functional. It’s a Zeiss Ikon TLR, so it had to be disassembled down to the frame in order to be cleaned and lubricated. Many of the internal components are made of softer metals, and attempting to use the camera with the grease seized up left some of them out of shape. So, it needs more adjustments to be reliable.
For 2026 I predict that, all else being equal, the M4 will again take the top spot. It might be more frequently paired with the Nokton than the Zeiss. The FA and 203FE will compete to be the runner up. Usage of the RP will probably drop, so the iPhone will likely come in fourth place. The Minox will be on the list, but I’m prone to tiring of 8×11 negatives, so the XA might make a comeback. The SX-70 is likely to be last on the list, unless I get the itch to pull out some obscure camera I have.
